Esports bar opening in London

The London Meltdown is the third bar in the franchise, following similar bars in Paris and Berlin.

The UK will be getting its first dedicated eSports bar in London.

Opening next month, Meltdown London will follow the set up of traditional sports bars and be dedicated to streaming professional gaming events alongside the serving of alcohol.

The bar can be found at 342 Caledonian Road and will serve eSports-themed cocktails, including the Force Field, Blanka, Blue Flame and Dark Ritual. The venue will also offer patrons access to PCs to take part in free play sessions and weekly bar-tournaments of games including Starcraft 2, League of Legends and Street Fighter 4.

Announced on the bar's Facebook page, an opening night party will run on June 1 and the bar will be serving drinks from 5 PM until 12:30 AM weekdays and staying open until 1:30 AM at weekends.

The London Meltdown is part of a franchise founded by Starcraft 2 commentator and reporter Sophia Metz last year. It will be the third Meltdown, joining sister bars that opened up in Paris and Berlin in 2012 and February this year respectively.

The eSports scene in London already has Barcraft, a fan-organised event that gathers to watch Starcraft 2 tournaments and is sometimes lent sponsorship from professional teams.

ESport has seen to be growing in popularity and last year, Major League Gaming (MLG) reported that it managed to draw more than 1.35 million viewers in a single day for its Anaheim Spring Championship tournament.

Further co-ordination between three of the largest organisers of eSports, MLG, ESL and Dreamhack, is planned for 2013 with the intention of boosting its popularity. They plan to implement a universal ranking system for professional gamers and a single tournament calendar to reduce clashes and keep schedules less hectic.